
Look at these examples to see how the present perfect is used.
He's been to ten different countries.
I haven't seen her today.
My phone's run out of battery. Can I use yours?
Have you ever dyed your hair a different colour?
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
We use the present perfect simple (have or has + past participle) to talk about past actions or states which are still connected to the present.
Unfinished time and states
We often use the present perfect to say what we've done in an unfinished time period, such as today, this week, this year, etc., and with expressions such as so far, until now, before, etc.
They've been on holiday twice this year.
We haven't had a lot of positive feedback so far.
I'm sure I've seen that film before.
We also use it to talk about life experiences, as our life is also an unfinished time period. We often use never in negative sentences and ever in questions.
I've worked for six different companies.
He's never won a gold medal.
Have you ever been to Australia?
We also use the present perfect to talk about unfinished states, especially with for, since and how long.
She's wanted to be a police officer since she was a child.
I haven't known him for very long.
How long have you had that phone?
Finished time and states
If we say when something happened, or we feel that that part of our life is finished, we use the past simple.
We visited Russia for the first time in 1992.
I went to three different primary schools.
Before she retired, she worked in several different countries.
We also use the past simple for finished states.
We knew all our neighbours when we were children.
I didn't like bananas for a really long time. Now I love them!
Past actions with a result in the present
We can use the present perfect to talk about a past action that has a result in the present.
He's broken his leg so he can't go on holiday.
There's been an accident on the main road, so let's take a different route.
They haven't called me, so I don't think they need me today.
Again, if we say when it happened, we use the past simple.
He broke his leg last week so he can't go on holiday.
However, we often use the present perfect with words like just, recently, already, yet and still.
We've recently started going to the gym.
She's already finished season one and now she's watching season two.
Have you checked your emails yet?
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hello Ayn,
The second one is correct. 'Earlier' refers to a completed past time, so the present perfect is not possible. You could use the present perfect with present time reference, but we tend to use a diferent verb in such cases. For example:
He has already come > He has already arrived
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Ayn,
We see 'today' us unfinished time, as you say, but we consider 'earlier today' a finished time period.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Jaspreet,
All three are possible. The choice depends on the context and your intention - what you want to say and to emphasise.
If you are constructing a narrative and your graduation is related to a later past event then the past perfect might be the best choice.
If you are describing something in the past which is relevant now and which is perceived as a change, then the present perfect might be suitable.
If you are simply stating a fact about the past then the past simple might be your choice.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Hamdy Ali,
Yes, that question is fine. You could also ask 'How long did you...?'
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Via,
The use of present perfect and past perfect is not related to the adverb; it is related to the context and the action expressed by the verb.
The present perfect describes an action in the past with a present result, effect or relevance.
The past perfect describes an action in the past with a result, effect or relevance later in the past. Note that two past time references are needed here, one earlier and one later.
You can read more about these forms on the verbs pages of our main grammar reference section:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/verbs
You'll find links to the perfect aspect there, which I think will help clarify this for you. Look also at the sections focused on talking about the past and talking about the present, and on the present tense and past tense.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello PaviaH,
Yes, that sentence is fine. Well done!
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Smith,
The first sentence (Does he do...) is a question about the person's normal or typical behaviour.
The second question (Has he been doing...) is a question about recent time. It doesn't tell us anything about the person's typical behaviour, but only about his recent actions.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello DaniWeebKage,
Have you seen our Present perfect simple and continuous page? I believe the explanation there will answer your questions, but if you have any others, please feel to ask us more on that page.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi DaniWeebKage,
Both of your sentences are correct. But if we were standing together watching this man playing tennis really well, I'd probably say 'He has been playing since he was a child' because presumably his playing tennis started when he was a child and has continued up until now.
It would also be correct to say what you suggested, though. There are many cases where both forms can be used and sometimes there's not even a big difference in meaning between them. Other times, only one is really correct.
This particular grammar point is one that takes time to learn well. I would suggest that you pay special attention for the present perfect in the texts you read and listen to so that you can analyse how it is used in them. Gradually, it will make more and more sense.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Abdul Mukit,
Both are grammatically correct.
Sentence 1 (past simple) describes a finished and defined past time or state (yesterday, in this example).
Sentence 2 (present perfect) describes a past action with a result in the present. It's often used to describe very recent events or news, as in this example.
So, which one we use depends on the context. If it is just a single sentence without context (as in your example), Sentence 2 is probably best because we have no information about any finished and defined past time.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Hamdy Ali,
Both 'came' and 'have come' are possible correct answers here, and which one is better depends on the situation. If I had to choose only one answer, I would choose 'came' because it works in a much wider number of situations. 'have come' would probably only be appropriate if you were reporting something you just discovered, but even then many times people would probably say 'came'.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Gloria Pérez,
Over is correct here. You could also say for.
We usually use over (+a period of time) when something happens intermittently, while for (+a period of time) suggests something happens continually. Thus, in your example I think over is the better choice.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again Gloria,
The first thing to note is that the difference here is very nuanced and not one which is a hard and fast rule.
An intermittent action here is one which occurs many times over a given period of time. This contrasts with an action which is constant and unbroken. In other words, if I do something for three hours then it suggests I spent the whole time on the task. If I do something over three hours it suggests I did in in that time, but may have taken breaks or done it in a series of repeated efforts. That is why over seems slightly more appropriate to me in your example, but either would be perfectly fine.
As I said, the difference is very slight and in most cases both can be used.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Hamdy Ali,
I'm afraid we don't provide answers to these kinds of questions. We're happy to help users with their English through explanations are clarifications, but we don't provide answers to tasks from elsewhere. If we did so, we'd end up doing users' homework and tests for them!
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Kim Hui-jeong,
Yes, both sentences are correct. The present perfect is possible in the second sentence because even though Mozart is dead, his music can still influence people today. Well done!
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello brian1010,
It would depend on the actual situation described here (that is, how long this reform has been in place), but it sounds to me as if there would be little if any difference in meaning between the present continuous and present perfect continuous here. The latter form would emphasise the fact that the lack of funding began in the past, but the present continuous also suggests this. This is why I'd say there's little difference in this specific case.
This is not always the case, though. Hope this helps you make more sense of this.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello brain1010,
If you say 'has kept', it communicates much the same idea and speaks about a situation up until the moment of speaking. 'is keeping' and 'has been keeping' suggest that the situation may change, whereas 'has kept' doesn't express this idea as much (though neither does it exclude the possibility).
If you have any further questions about this, could you please provide more context? What exactly tenses mean is highly contextual and so it's difficult to say for sure without knowing more.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello brian1010,
I'm afraid I can't explain why the writer of these sentences chose these particular forms. I would need to know the context and their purpose and view of these situations to be able to do that.
But I'm afraid that even if I had that information, this goes well beyond the kind of service we are able to provide these days -- we simply have too many other comments that are directly related to the content on our pages and other work preparing new materials.
I'm sorry we're not able to help you more with this.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Tim,
I think saw is the natural choice here. The present perfect describes an open time period stretching up to the present (with an effect on the present), whereas since and the last time imply a finished time period.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello tikah,
If you say 'How long have you had the old one?', this means that you still have the old car. I suppose that is possible, but the idea here is to distinguish between the present perfect, which speaks about something that is still happening (owning the car) and the past simple, which is speaking about something that already finished.
So 'How long did you have the old one?' means that you no longer have the old car. It is now 2020; if you had the old car from 2007 to 2019, then the past simple is the best form, because it speaks about a finished past time.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello angeeeeeeel,
All three of these clauses are correctly formed -- in this sense, they are all correct -- but none are a complete sentence (with a subject, verb and complement), and in this sense, none of them are correct.
The third one is probably the most appropriate for the context you mention.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Timothy555
It's not completely clear whether 'killed' is 'have killed' or just 'killed', but most of the time I think people would understand it to be 'have killed'. We definitely leave out some words when the meaning is understood to be clear (this is called 'ellipsis').
You could certainly have a sentence with multiple present perfect forms such as the one you ask about, but most of the time people would omit the auxiliary verb.
Many different combinations of verb tenses in the same sentence are possible, but I'm afraid I can't list them out for you. If you have a question about a specific combination, please feel free to ask us.
As for your last question, it could be that the sequence of the sentence is the same as that of the actions, but not necessarily. Most people don't speak so precisely, I'd say, but it could well be true.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Tim,
Regarding your first point, yes, that is what I meant. As for your second and third points, yes, that is also what I meant, but in general I think you can count on people reporting the sequence correctly. I made that comment because some people are not always so precise in ordinary conversation. But in general it's reasonable to assume that people are reporting things in the sequence in which they occurred. Sorry if that was confusing!
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team